On January 9, Daiichi Sankyo Inc., a global pharmaceutical company, agreed to pay the United States and state Medicaid programs $39 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to induce physicians to prescribe Daiichi drugs, including Azor, Benicar, Tribenzor, and Welchol. The government alleged that Daiichi paid physicians improper kickbacks in the form of speaker fees between Jan. 1, 2005 and Feb. 4, 2011. Allegedly, payments were made to physicians even when they took turns “speaking” on duplicative topics over Daiichi-paid dinners, when the recipient spoke only to members of his or her own staff in his or her own office, or when the associated dinner was so lavish that its cost exceeded Daiichi’s own internal cost limitation of $140 per person. As part of the settlement, Daiichi has agreed to enter into a corporate integrity agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, which obligates the defendants to undertake substantial internal compliance reforms for the next five years. United States ex rel. Fragoules v. Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., 10 Civ. 10420 (D. Mass.). DOJ Press Release.
